Freeing The Prisoners
by TooLegitToQuit
Summary: After she gets a tip about the wrong doings happening at the Lennox mental institute, a girl serving time for a previous crime makes arrangements to be relocated to look into it. Relying on her cunning and unique combat abilities, a con nicknamed by Blue as "Sweetheart" will witness the abuse of the girls first hand in the kitchen and more importantly see what lives can be saved.


_**Freeing The Prisoners**_

With two armed corrections officers tight beside me, another one a safe distance ahead to lead the way, we make our way through the halls of the boisterous prison. I tugs on my handcuffs, testing their strength quietly as the entire place fills with the sounds of inmates shouting and pounding on the heavy metal bars of their cells. Incoherent phrases and profanities all muddled together aimed at the employees. According to the Warden I'm on my way to being "evaluated" by one of his close friends, whatever that means. This should be good. Eventually we reach our destination, a medium sized room resembling a cage with a metal table placed in the center along with chairs facing across from each other. There's a big red button with a cheap plastic top over it sitting neatly under an old silver metal engraving that reads "Conference." Everyone knows it's more of an interrogation center so they're really not fooling anyone. The lead guard lifts the plastic and hits the button which in turn buzzes the four of them inside. The door unlocks and they shove me down into the far chair across the room facing the door. A small man with glasses wearing nice pants, a shirt, and a tie sits down across from her momentarily. All the guards but one retreats from the room. He stands unblinking off into space from the corner of the room, his thick arms crossed. I eye the strange man ahead of me with a blank expression. Finally he introduces himself. A shrink. Exactly what she needs. He starts talking about the crime I've committed but I'm not listening although the way I'm zoning out probably gives the illusion I am. His hand lays on the table almost halfway between us. I can feel the cool metal I've hidden all tucked up my sleeve and I don't hesitate to drop the switch blade into my hands while the opportunity is still here. A clicking sound is heard but he doesn't even register the sound, at least not in time. The blade has already sliced down through the center of his hand, sticking out of it like a stake in the ground. He's yelling now and it's only a matter of time before the guard reacts. I stand up and avoid the tackle the guard attempts to deliver, swinging my hands around his neck. The chain of my handcuffs lays tightly against his throat and I press my wrists closer together cutting off his airway. He's out in a few seconds and I release him just as quickly as I got him. I grip the edge of the metal table and flip it over. It smashes noisily into the side of cage's metal. Here they come. Two guards start running back towards the screams that continue to come from the shrink. I hear the buzzer and the first barrels through the door wielding a long black baton. He swings the blunt object down from above and I reach my wrists up towards it. It slams against the chains of the cuffs where its advance is halted. I bring my wrists together to hold it in place and send a kick straight into his stomach. He falls back into the table roughly as the second guard swings his own baton sideways into my head. Shit that one hurt. I drop to the floor and the guard quickly kneels on her back to keep her down. I don't fight it and return to my bored expression. One of the other guards staggers back over and the two of them together drag my into solitary. After sitting hours alone virtually in the dark I'm allowed a phone call. One is all I need anyways. Within half an hour my attorney has arrived and demanded permission to hold a private conversation. Soon after he's sitting down facing me on the opposite side of the glass we simultaneously reach for our phone connected to the walls.

"What's the verdict?" I ask simply.

"Well you certainly didn't make inmate of the week." he jokes.

I stare at him expectantly. He sighs.

"You're stuck here. Extended sentence."

I restrain myself enough not to rip the phone off the wall. I take a moment. Close my eyes and breathe in and out a few times before pulling the phone back to my ear.

"I don't get it. This wasn't part of the plan."

He rubs his forehead tiredly.

"Well hijacking a knife from another inmate and causing damage to several people in the room wasn't part of the plan either."

I narrow my eyes and stare at him impatiently.

"You know what I mean. We were going for crazy. If that doesn't scream mentally unstable I don't know what does unless you want me to start screaming about seeing dead people or something."

I drum my fingernails along the counter waiting for his reply.

"I doubt the judge will listen to anything I have to say when this report goes through."

This answer is unacceptable. I glare at him through the glass intently.

"Listen to me very closely. We had a deal. I'm paying you but if that's not enough motivation I can certainly raise the stakes. How about you either pull a few strings and make some phone calls to get me where I want to go OR I get out of her and..."

His eyes widen and he hurriedly cuts me off with an "alright alright. I'll do it. Just give me 12 hours."

I smile widely at him happy with his answer. "Better."

He hangs up the phone and walks out with purpose. Three guards come and lead me back to my confines. The next morning there's a bang on my door and light floods the gloomy cell.

"Rise and shine, baby. You're being transferred." A guard practically sings as he rips me onto her feet by my arm. Looks like my attorney made good on his promise after all. Paperwork is done and I'm put into the back of a black sedan but only after they've shoved a needle into my arm as some sort of tranquilizer. I don't want to hurt anyone anyways (not now at least), but the drugs send me into a place between consciousness and sleep so I lean my head against the window, lulled by the steady pace of the moving car. It's raining when they pull up to the mental hospital. Maybe if I wasn't so drowsy I'd take the time to read the name on the sign. It doesn't matter though. Walking up the long path I see the building and knows it's the right place. More paperwork is done by my attorney and quickly I realize the guards have just been replaced by orderlies. It doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of them. Besides, that's not why I'm here. Something must be done. I thank my attorney and he nods, explaining my bags have been moved straight to my new room. The handcuffs are back though. "Just temporarily" a black haired man with a pair of thick black glasses assures me softly. Bullshit. Maybe I was too theatrical in the prison after all. I come to find the man's name is Blue. Weird name. There's something about him though. Something out of place. He's holding onto some old clipboard with black pen scribbled all over the papers. I casually glance down a few times and catch a few odd names connected with short descriptions. Are those even real names? I don't get to read much more because I'm quickly being lead to another room. It's dark in this room. It has a few couches but this place is definitely no 5 star venue. I'm seated on one of the teal sofas in front of another shrink. She has brown hair styled in curls but the way she carries herself leads me to believe she's actually pretty qualified. Apparently you're required to be evaluated by the head doctor from day one to plot your progress as you move on. Piece of cake. She has no clipboard. No weapon. Nothing. Hasn't she read the records? The doctor asks a lot of questions that were casual enough. I answered each one and I found she was easy to talk to. Easy to trust. Then finally she asked, "Why are you here?" and surprisingly I told the truth.

"Because I have to. There's something to be done." I say. She seems confused and surprised by my response.

"And that is?" I think for a moment and give another honest answer.

"Something is wrong. I can't let the wrong people be punished." Then she asked me a question I didn't really expect.

"How do you know who the right people are?" How would I know?

"I don't. I won't know until the moment comes I guess. I'm not crazy though." I'm sure she gets that last part a lot.

"I know." she says simply and leaves soon after saying goodbye. She definitely just wrote me off as crazy and clearly went along with what I was saying. Blue arrives with two large orderlies and gives me a small tour of the institution. A tour because it's clear my room is at the back of the building so we have to pass this stuff anyways. As we walk down the hall I hear a few voices of girls about my age and a bit older. Curiously I peek into the room it's coming from and see a group of them sitting on old creaky metal beds, whispering. I stop walking and look at each of them, remembering faces. Are these the names I saw on the clipboard? I try to match faces with names and descriptions but what little I read was too vague. Their makeup is smudged and there's deep circles under their eyes like they haven't slept for days. Two with black hair, two tall blondes, and a blonde shorter than the rest. The smallest instantly strikes me as fragile especially with her childish features. Baby Doll. The one with the hallucinations who killed her sister. They turn and eye my handcuffs and orange jumpsuit. A convict. Looks like I'll be the pariah around here even though I know I'm not the only "murderer." An orderly shoves me forward past the room.

"Move." he orders. He's not even good looking and the way he's speaking to me makes me want to take him out but I resist. I have better things to take care of. We pass a kitchen where an massive chef dwells, chopping away at a vegetable. His meaty fingers holding it in place unnecessarily roughly.

"Welcome home, Sweetheart. If you need anything I'll be around." Blue teases as he runs his fingers lightly down my right arm. Then I'm locked into a new cell in the form of a small room with moderately okay furniture. Just another solitary. I sit on the bed. Doesn't matter. My hair's up today and my attorney stealthily shoved a bobby pin deep into my thick hair I have pulled up. I reach up and search for it in my hair. Finally I find it and begin to work on my cuffs. I've done this quite a few times and it doesn't take long for them to drop off my hands. Perfect. I sit on the bed and stare out the window. At least there's a view. Sarcasm. Nothing but a sketchy field all but obscured in darkness. Hours pass by and I'm starting to feel the drugs wearing off. Thank God. I lay on the bed and close my eyes. This mattress is much more comfortable than the springs digging into my back on a nightly basis at the prison. Just as I'm finally drifting off I hear music. Music in the kitchen. I don't remember seeing a stereo. Plus this genre is definitely not his type I can just tell. I sit up and walk to the door with my pin ready. I shove it into the keyhole and begin to jostle it around. I haven't picked too many door locks but how different can it be? After what seems like forever, that satisfying click. I push open the door and enter the light of the hallway. That's when I feel something wrong...

I enter the light of the daylight. It's Baby Doll's world and I can feel unexplained knowledge clouding my head. Like I've always known what this place was and where to go. The sky is an odd orange brown and there's a chill in the air. I'm wearing a black combat outfit, boots and everything. I see a triple sheath laying before me on the dull grass and lift it. It's heavy but the swords look great. A large two handed blade sits on top of crossed slightly thinner blades that I can hold in both hands. I walk forward and the grass changes to a metallic silver path that I follow like I've known it my whole life. I move to the big black helicopter I knew would be there. I slide open the door and hop in nicely. There's a small closet space on the back wall with my name on it and I pop it open. A drawer opens and inside sits a golden desert eagle and two small katars. I slide the pistol into my empty gun holster at my side and I slip the katars over my hands. They fit perfectly and when I make a fist the blades slide out viciously. This is awesome. Above the drawer a small compact gun is displayed. It has some kind of hook sticking out of the barrel and it all comes to me. I take it, hook it to my side, and move to the copter controls. I start the plane and I'm out quickly. I know where to go. It doesn't take long. And then I see it. A long train racing towards some massive city with another helicopter hovering nearby that doesn't see me. The caboose's back door has been blown off and I can see metal pieces flying out of it. What the hell? Better make my own entrance. I aim and the copter fires a large metal piece that latches onto the roof of one of the last few cars and remains connected to my plane. Time to ditch it. I hop out of the helicopter and immediately it begins to dive straight to the ground. As it crashes the wire attached to the train car rips the roof off I land inside the opening just as my plane explodes. My twin blades drawn I see dozens of faceless, silver metal robots facing the opposite direction, heading there quickly to some other opponents. I shove one of the blade through the closest's head and rip it back out again. Metal and sparks explode from the machine and I realize what was falling out of the caboose. It drops motionless to the ground. This gets a few of their attentions and I start ripping through them. My train car is clear and I need to head towards the caboose. I kick down the door and into another car. I can hear the other helicopter overhead and faint, stressed yet familiar voices. I don't see anyone at first, just a giant bomb and a few of the stupid robots approaching, my face reflecting off their blank faces. I drop the blades ready to take the robots out from a distance when I see two people standing close together and in deep conversation. They're familiar. Then I remember. It's two sisters from the institute I had seen back in reality hours ago. Suddenly the younger hits a button on her sister's backpack and she's sent upwards through an opening in the roof to the other helicopter. I can hear her scream. Not like the kind you make when you're 100 feet off the ground. The kind when someone you love is in trouble. "Rocket!" she screams for her sister but it's too late. She's caught by Baby Doll who's holding onto the helicopter. I flip my gun into my hand and fire twice. The bullets whiz by and soar through the only two oncoming robots near the girl. They smash into the ground out of commission. I put my gun away as "Rocket" is turning and notice the steam coming from her own pack. It must be totalled otherwise she'd be out of here by now. The giant bomb they were clearly trying to defuse is very much active and the countdown is reaching single digits. She doesn't have a way out but she wouldn't let her sister stay to die with her. I know I don't have a way out but that's not important. This is what I've come to do. She's just turning to acknowledge my presence, unsure whether or not I'm a threat, but I make my movements as quickly as possible before a word can be exchanged. I pull the tech gun from my side and clip it onto a hook on her pack. I then aim the gun upwards at the foot of the helicopter and fire. A long metal line flies out and wraps around it. Almost immediately the girl is yanked up after it to safety. I look at the bomb. I can't deactivate it. I don't know how and I don't have the time. I look up at the helicopter and shrug. A few robots shove their way into the room and I clench my fists. The blades shoot out from my knuckles and I'm sending a strike straight into the closest one and fight just as it detonates.

The music stopped and I know something is wrong. I can feel my heartbeat, my adrenaline rush. I hear someone make a sound as they hit the ground and a chair move as someone heavy got up. I don't waste another second. I plow through the door and pause for only a fraction of a second to take in the situation before I'm moving again. The girls are all in there. A stereo sits up, its wire compromised by a puddle that's accumulated under it. Baby Doll standing on the kitchen counter, the two with black hair off to the side, the younger sister on the ground, the older slapped by the chef in mid fall. Everyone's got that "Oh shit" look on their face. The music starts again and the chef rips one of his massive kitchen knives from his side, staring down at the oldest sister. I'm angry and I don't waste time. I sprint forward and he brings his knife back. The younger dives over her sister to take the fatal blow instead but I won't allow it. I'm faster than the knife. As the chef brings the knife down I slam my hand into his arm, redirecting the path of the knife. I keep his arm in place and reach forward with my other hand and grip the handle of the knife tightly, I twist his wrist in towards his own body and his hand is forced to release the weapon to me. I leap up and send a strong kick into his heavy frame to send him reeling back and away from us. I turn around to be sure everyone's okay. They stare at me with surprise. I turn back to the chef as he slams against a distant counter, withdrawing a new knife. This'll be fun. He barrels forwards towards me and swings him knife down at me again. I run past him ducking, turn behind him and drive the knife deep into his shoulder. He cries out and turns to slash me but I duck under it send another attack into his upper arm. He drives the knife straight at me but I side step and dig a deep one into his side. I rip the knife out and shove my foot into his chest sending him down to the ground. My hand's covered in blood and there's drops all over the floor. It's a miracle I didn't pull a muscle in my leg trying to knock him over. I breathe out slowly and wipe the bloody knife on my shirt. I turn around and everyone's still caught in shock, especially the sisters who know what could've happened instead. Someone's about to break the silence when the door on the other side near the girls swings open violently. Blue appears with two orderlies flanking him.

"What the hell is going on?"

He's angry. It's not like I killed the guy anyways. At least this time around I could use defense of another if this goes to court. I hold the knife like I'm ready for another fight but Blue's orderlies pull out their pistols and aim at my head. I almost laugh out loud but I hide it with an amused smirk and put my hands up, drop the knife. It hits against the floor and the orderlies get a hold of me like I'm a prisoner again. There's a sense of camaraderie between myself and Baby Doll's group. She nods a thank you at me and I nod back with a knowing expression. I know I'll be punished more severely than any prison and they know that too. But I did something much bigger. I may be in more trouble than I can get myself out of this time but I'm glad I was the one sent to check out this tip off. Just as I'm being dragged away I nonchalantly kick the knife to Sweet Pea who slips it behind her before Blue can notice. They can still continue and go free.


End file.
